Late Night Thinking
by Yaoifan101
Summary: Reid wonders why he never has nightmares on the jet and why every morning he finds a blanket over him. Can be read as HotchxReid slash or Hotch/Reid father/son. First  Criminal Minds! Please Review!


Reid found himself wondering about many things after a case was done. Mainly when he was sitting on the jet back to Qauntico staring out the window or at a case file.

Sometimes he thought about the case they had just completed, sometimes about previous cases. Other times he thought about random facts, chess strategies, and books. He also thought about his mom at times, sometimes his dad, he thought about schizophrenia, and he thought about his team.

And other days, like this, he wondered about what happened after everyone on the jet fell asleep.

It had always been an odd thing Reid had began noticing when he woke up after falling asleep on the couch or a chair. Because for some odd reason every time he woke up he would find things had moved around.

Every morning he would find that Morgan's headphones had been removed, JJ's case files were moved to a table and her blanket was drawn up, Prentiss's book was placed beside her. And every morning Reid would find a blanket covering him and wake up to discover he hadn't had any nightmares that night.

Now to any other person this wouldn't seem strange, but then again any other person wasn't Reid. Who knew for a fact that Morgan always fell asleep with his headphones on, JJ always fell asleep while reading case files and always managed to loose her blanket during the night, and Prentiss always fell asleep reading a book which always laid on either her lap or her chest when she fell asleep.

And Reid himself never slept with a blanket over him and almost always had nightmares, especially after cases like the one they had just had.

At first Reid didn't pay any mind to it, but after awhile it really began to take up residence in his mind. At one time he thought perhaps the others woke up in the middle of the night and just moved those things themselves, but after staying up nearly half the night himself proved that theory wrong.

As it were the members of his team were rather heavy sleepers.

And like all the other times Reid thought about that subject nighttime came quicker then usual. And before he knew it he was laying on the couch with his head resting on a makeshift pillow. A soft sigh left his lips as he laid his head down.

A few times he had attempted to stay awake and try to figure out why, and how exactly everything moved by the time morning came, but he always managed to fall asleep.

And Reid guessed that tonight probably wouldn't be any different. It was dark out now and the lights on the jet were dimmed aside from a desk light being used by one of the agents.

Reid's hazel eyes drooped slightly and lazily glanced around at the other inhabitants of the plane. As always he could see Morgan lounging back on a chair with his headphones on, JJ curled up by the window with a blanket, case files and all. Prentiss was laying down with her Kurt Vonnegut book draped across her stomach.

He could also see that Rossi was leaning back into a chair with his eyes closed, though he was obviously still awake which was signified by the way he kept tapping his pointer finger in an absentminded motion. And finally sitting across from Rossi was Hotch, who was also still awake.

Hotch was currently reading a case file, the light from the desk illuminated him slightly to Reid's eyes. Reid, who was close to slipping into sleep, found himself drowsily watching as Hotch's dark brown eyes skimmed back and forth over the paper sitting on his lap.

Reid's eyes drooped a little lower as he stifled a small yawn, feeling more tired as he watched Hotch read the file. Watching the constant back and forth motion of the older agents eyes lulled Reid in a strange way. Soon his mind grew hazy and his eyes closed letting him slip into the allure of sleep.

...

Later that night Hotch looked up from the files he had been reading over to see that everyone else had fallen asleep already. A small brief smile passed his lips before he sighed closing the manilla folder and setting it on the table beside him.

The Unit Chief stood to his feet and made his way past the sleeping profilers. Carefully and silently he went about removing Morgan's headphones, moving JJ's files and pulling her blanket up to her shoulders, and picking up Prentiss's book and setting it next her.

He smiled softly and let out another sigh as he turned around making his way to the other end of the jet where their youngest was sleeping. He stopped beside the couch seeing their resident genius curled up on his side as usual and shivering.

The smile on Hotch's lips grew a little at that, this had become a routine over the years. He found himself fixing things as his team slept, unaware that he was doing anything. What was almost humorous though was the fact that it never changed. They always seemed to do the same things, and in turn Hotch seemed to keep correcting the same things.

It became a comfort for Hotch though, the fact that it was always the same thing every night. He mused over this as he retrieved another blanket for the younger brunette. Gently, he laid the blanket over the shivering profiler and began rubbing Reid's arm through the material.

His eyes softened as Reid gradually began to stop shaking. Hotch could remember a couple of times when Reid had stayed awake longer then usual. Hotch had found it amusing, considering that he knew only Reid would notice all the things that had changed in the morning and care that much, that, and the fact that he always fell asleep rather quickly.

Hotch doubted that many of the other's on the plane really noticed the changes when they woke up, and if they did they didn't really care too much. But then again, they weren't Reid.

Slowly Hotch removed his hand from Reid's shoulder seeing that he was sufficiently warmed up now. However, Hotch didn't move to return to his seat yet, he continued to look down at Reid almost as if he expected something.

After three years of going through this routine Hotch learned two things about Reid's part in his routine. Number one was that Reid was always shivering in the middle of the night. Number two was that after Hotch had covered him with a blanket Reid always showed some sign of discomfort in his sleep.

Sure enough the superior was greeted with a soft whimper. He laid his hand on Reid's head as the whimpers increased, and began stroking the boys hair soothingly. And listened as the distressed whines grew softer.

Just like they always did.

Hotch blinked; however, when something different happened. Reid's eyes fluttered open slightly; a soft confused sound passed his lips. That certainly was something that didn't happen, Hotch couldn't recall a time when Reid had ever woken up.

Hotch watched as hazel eyes blinked blearily, the younger agent's brow creased slightly in confusion. Quite frankly it made Reid look even younger then he usually did. Reid looked up at Hotch; blinking slowly, but all together unable to open his eyes very much.

Hotch stared down at his subordinate who was obviously not even remotely coherent and barely awake. Reid's mind drunkly stirred in his incapacitated state, vaguely making sense of the figure in front of him.

"...Hotch?" Reid asked in a very tired and slurred voice. Hotch could see that Reid could barely keep his eyes open and slowly continued stroking his subordinate's soft brown hair.

That earned a soft sigh from Reid who's gaze dropped downwards again, his eyes fluttering for a moment.

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Hotch apologized softly remembering that there were other people on the plane still asleep. Reid mumbled something incoherent while laying his head down, but fought to keep his eyes open still.

A small smile traced itself back onto Hotch's face as he watched Spencer dip back and forth between coherence. Obviously it was difficult for him to remain awake, and the image was doing no justice for Spencer's actual age.

Hotch merely continued running his fingers through the others brown locks, "It's alright," he whispered. "Go back to sleep, Reid." he urged. He knew that the repeated petting motion of his hand would most likely be enough to pacify Spencer enough to get him to fall back asleep.

Reid seemed far too lulled to disobey or even try to resist that allure and let his eyes slip closed. However, he let out another murmur that most likely wasn't english but, still conveyed his hesitance.

"Every thing's okay, Reid," Hotch reassured calmly. "Go to sleep," he coaxed and watched Reid slip back into a peaceful sleep. Hotch waited a few more seconds until he was sure that Reid was alright again before he removed his hand from the boys head.

He took a last look at the sleeping profiler, pulling up the blanket so that it covered Spencer's shoulder's before he finally turned around and made his way back to his seat.

Hotch sat down and let out a breath, once more looking over the other sleeping inhabitants. Yes, his routine had changed a little tonight, but this part was still the same. The things he fixed, the things they did were still all the same.

It still brought a strange sense of comfort to Hotch.

Hotch looked finally over the others and let out a soft breath as he leaned over and turned off the light.

...

Reid mumbled feeling a hand touch his shoulder,shaking him, he could hear a familiar voice talking.

"Reid, wake up."

Reid moaned not exactly enjoying the thought of waking up, but opened his eyes none the less. He blinked a couple of time and reached up to rub his eye with his palm. Spencer's eyes then traveled upward to the owner of the voice.

Reid blinked in confusion, "Hotch?" he asked. The older agent looked down at Reid removing his hand, smiling slightly. Reid widened his eyes realizing that there was a blanket on him. Then blurs of memories from what happened last night rushed into his mind.

He opened his mouth; ready to ask if that had actually occurred; however, before Reid could get anything out Hotch beat him to it.

"We should be landing pretty soon," he said with a knowing smile still set on his lips. Reid blinked a few times his mouth gaping like a fish. Hotch only chuckled almost unnoticeably as he turned and walked back to his seat before Reid could saying else.

Spencer sat there recounting the rather hazy event that was hanging in his mind.

Yes, sometimes after a case on the plane ride home Reid thought about previous cases, or the case they just finished. Sometimes he thought about random facts, chess strategies, and books. Other times he thought about his mom, sometimes his dad, schizophrenia, or his team.

And now, Reid wondered wether what had happened that night really occurred, or if he had simply dreamed it.

END

_**FINALLY i have again changed series...i am soo sorry considering i had almost finished the chapter for the lotr series but i CANT control these guys! Finally i have written and finished a fic for criminal minds! Honestly my muse has been on and off and it gets hard to write a plot sometimes but i finally got this and i thought it was cute so...there. lol i always think of hotch and reid together so in my mind...yes thats this story but im cool with the fatherly stuff also...which is also this story...lol can be read really either way. PLEASE REVIEW!**_


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